Superficially, the Medium C looks a lot like its rival, the Medium B. It too has the general rhomboid shape of the Mark I and later heavy tanks combined with a fixed armored structure, or Casemate, well forward, fitted with ball-mounts for five machine guns. However, Tritton's Medium Mark C was a much longer vehicle. It had a separate engine compartment at the back like the Medium B, but here it was large enough to house a normal 6 cylinder Ricardo engine behind a standard epicyclic transmission. Also it was easily accessible from the fighting compartment. The larger engine meant the tank had better speed (about 13 km/h). The greater length gave it a superior trench crossing ability. A fuel tank holding 682 liters of petrol allowed for a range of 225 km. Overall mobility therefore was much better.
Rigby had taken great care to improve the design's ergonomics. The commander had a special revolving lookout turret and even a small map table. There were eleven vision slits. Special stowage boxes were fitted for the personal gear of the crew of four. Speaking-tubes were used to improve communication. The driver had an odometer.
| Medium Tank Mark C | |
|---|---|
| Production history | |
| Designer | Rigby |
| Manufacturer | Fosters |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 20 t |
| Length | 7.9 m (25 ft 10 in) |
| Width | 2.5 m (8 ft 4 in) |
| Height | 2.9 m (9 ft 6 in) |
| Crew | 4: commander, driver, mechanic, machine gunner |
| | |
| Armour | 14 mm |
| Main armament | 5 x .303 machine guns |
| Secondary armament | - |
| Engine | Ricardo 6-cyl petrol 150 hp |
| Power/weight | 7.5 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | unsprung |
| Operational range | 225 km |
| Speed | 12.7 km/h (7.9 mph) |
